Legend:
For him, participating in the European Championship is already a triumph
Josip Ilicic.
IMAGO / DeFodi
Josip Ilicic, affectionately known as “Jojo” by everyone in his home country, was as happy as a little child. The Slovenian celebrated with his teammates their entry into the round of 16 at the EURO and slid wildly around on the pitch after the goalless draw against England.
If it’s up to Ilicic, he would like to celebrate like that again after the knockout match on Monday in Frankfurt against the Portuguese team with superstar Cristiano Ronaldo – but actually, for the 36-year-old, participation in the European Championship is already a triumph.
Almost 1000 days of waiting
The big goosebumps moment came in the 75th minute of the England game. Ilicic came on as a substitute and celebrated his European Championship debut. He helped to keep the score at 0:0 – for the first time in their history, the Slovenians made it to the knockout rounds.
Legend:
Snapshot of the goosebumps moment
Ilicic comes on as a substitute in the 75th minute against England.
IMAGO / Matthias Koch
But for Ilicic, the milestone was even greater: after 955 days, the striker, who had long struggled with major psychological problems, played a competitive match for his home country again – it was a victory over himself.
Live notice
Open box
Box zuklappen
Follow the European Championship round of 16 match between Portugal and Slovenia on Monday from 8:30 p.m. live on SRF two and in the Sport App (match starts at 9:00 p.m.).
Lukas Studer welcomes Mladen Petric and Diego Benaglio as guests in the SRF studio. Sascha Ruefer will then accompany you through the match as commentator.
Corona pandemic takes its toll on the psyche
The fall into the deep valley of depression began over four years ago. Ilicic was in the form of his life at Atalanta Bergamo in the Italian Serie A when the corona pandemic suddenly changed his life. The attacker, born in Prijedor, Bosnia, had just scored all four goals in the 4-3 Champions League round of 16 win against Valencia FC when he was thrown off course in the Lombardy epidemic hotspot.
The images of the dead being constantly transported away had a massive impact on Ilicic. In his fight against depression, Ilicic was sent home to recover. But all attempts at a comeback failed. In 2022, Ilicic said goodbye to Bergamo with tears in his eyes and with great sympathy from the Tifosi.
“I wanted to enjoy playing again”
After leaving Italy, Ilicic made one last attempt at football. Back home, he joined his former club NK Maribor. “I wanted to enjoy playing again,” said Ilicic, who became a key player at the championship runner-up last season. The beefy attacker scored nine goals and provided twelve assists: “I wanted to prove to myself that I can still play at a high level.”
National coach Matjaz Kek also recognized this. “I would like to thank you for that. It really means a lot to me,” said Ilicic, commenting on his nomination for the European Championships: “I hope for the best.” And perhaps the best is in store for Ilicic on Monday.
